Lonely Ones
by ashleezak
Summary: Valentine's Day in the early 80's. There's nothing there that could possibly interest the Doctor, right? Except for maybe the disappearing people. Tenth Doctor, original character. One shot.


**Standard disclaimers apply. I am not making anything off of this and I own nothing related to Doctor Who.**

Lonely Ones

The Doctor sighed and walked around the console. The TARDIS was quiet, and for the first time in a very long time, he had no where to go and no one with him. Feeling the oppressive quiet, he sighed again gustily.

"Take me somewhere," he said to the ship as he began fiddling with the controls. The TARDIS obliged him, and with relatively little fuss he felt the ship land. Pulling on his overcoat, he strode to the doors and threw them open.

There was a flower shop directly in front of his doors. The street was busy but not crowded. He stepped out and walked to the convenience store on the corner, perusing the newspapers until he discovered where he'd ended up.

The paper on top identified his location as Fort Collins, Colorado on February 14, 1983. Nothing on the headlines kept his attention for long. Stories about the disagreements over the water treatment plant expansion and a local Girl Scout troop winning an award just weren't his cup of tea. He tossed the paper back onto the stack when a tiny item at the bottom of the page snagged his eye.

"_CSU sees record number of dropouts. –President Bob Rigby has issued a statement citing the new stricter class attendance restrictions as a cause for the record number of dropouts seen this semester at the local college. Since the January enrollment, nearly fifty students have simply packed their things and left. When asked about the trend, professors declined to comment officially, saying only that the spring semester was always tougher on freshmen than the fall semester._

"_Several students on campus, however, have actually filed missing persons when roommates packed hurriedly, or sometimes not at all, and vanished. Official police inquiries have tracked most of the students down at their homes, but there are still 12 that have been completely unaccounted for."_

"Hey, buddy. Either pay for it or put it down," the cashier said.

"Sorry," the Doctor said and replaced the paper on the stack. Thrusting his hands in his pockets, he walked up to the counter, perusing the candy selection in the racks. "So, what is this about the students at the university?"

"I don't know why they're making such a big deal about it. Kids can't hack it, they head back home. So a few more go this semester. That'll be seventy-five cents," the man said as the Doctor tossed his selections on the counter.

Digging into his pocket and really hoping that he actually had some American currency on him, he pulled out several bits of paper before finding a single crumpled up in the mess. He handed it to the cashier, who regarded it suspiciously before ringing it into the register. The Doctor stared at the quarter he received in change before tucking it back into his pocket with the rest of his oddities.

"Thanks."

He left and headed back down the street toward the TARDIS. It was tempting to go in and scan for any kind of alien activity, because something in his gut was screaming that there was a lot more to this story than met the eye.

"Ow!" 

Instinctively he caught the woman who'd just stepped from the doorway and ran right into him.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said as he steadied her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Just didn't see you." She looked up at him. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"No." 

Staring down at the street where the Doctor's candy had been knocked from his hand, she blushed. "Sorry about that."

"That's all right. I've been told that I should cut back on the sugar intake, anyway." He felt a pang when he remembered the situation that had led to that particular comment. Rose had asked to go back to her mum's and while there, she had instigated a pillow fight that spilled out of the bedroom and into the living room. Jackie had come back to them chasing each other around with half-empty pillows and covered in feathers and had proceeded to read them both the riot act.

The woman cocked her head at him. "You look all right to me. I'm Eleanor."

"I'm the Doctor."

"Medical or professional?" she asked.

He grinned. "A little of both."

Eleanor laughed. "Well, that's creative. I bet that you have no trouble with the girls."

The Doctor fought to keep his expression from changing. "I'm not really worried about that right now."

"What happened to her?"

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "I work in a flower store. Have all my adult life. I've seen all kinds. The unrequited, the newlyweds, the long-term ones, the broken-hearted, the grieving. Everything. You just lost her recently, didn't you?"

Trying to redirect the conversation, he asked, "Then is this shop here yours?"

"Yes, and you're evading. Never mind. If it's that painful then it's none of my business." Eleanor watched as a young man pushed past them to enter the store. "If you'll excuse me, I've got a customer." Glancing down at the sidewalk, she said, "And sorry again about the gummi bears."

Watching her enter the shop and handle the sale, the Doctor wandered back over to the TARDIS and ran an appreciative hand down the door jamb. "Thanks. An adventure and a fascinating person. All I could've wanted."

He entered the establishment, carefully keeping away from the roses. As he looked through the annuals toward the back, he listened to Eleanor's spiel. She was obviously knowledgeable in what best suited the situation, and he was impressed with her bearing as she guided the young lover away from the roses and into a much more appropriate mixed bouquet of daisies, carnations, and mums.

Another three customers came in quick succession. She sold a half dozen red roses to an elderly gentleman, a centerpiece for a middle-aged woman's dinner party, and a single carnation for a teenage girl for her mother's birthday.

As the shop cleared again, he stepped toward her, leaning on the counter. "May I ask you a question?" he asked with a slight smile on his face.

"Sure."

"Why did you steer that first customer away from the more expensive choice?"

She glanced up at him. "Two reasons. One, he's obviously a college student and the vast majority of them have no extra money, and two, I hate to see him throw away money on a useless situation."

"How do you know it's hopeless?"

"The symptoms are there. He's willing to spend the money on the very best even though he probably can't afford it. Also, he dropped her name several times."

The Doctor shrugged. "Why is that significant?"

"Because when established boyfriends, fiancés, or married men come in to buy flowers, they usually go for the cheaper selections to start with and then decide for the better, sometimes with my help. And as for the names, they know their place in the relationship and don't feel like they need to advertise. That girl probably doesn't even know he's alive."

He grinned at her. "And you can see this from their choices and their behavior?"

Eleanor laughed. "I have a degree in psychology."

"And you run a flower shop?"

"I help people more here than I ever would've in an office."

"Brilliant. So, you said that the first gentleman was a student?"

"I think so. He might be in high school, but most high school boys would rather write a bad love song than actually spend money on a girl. Unless he was shelling out for a movie where he had a chance to neck."

"Neck?"

"You know. Make out. Kiss, or worse."

"Oh." He considered that before coming back to his original question. "Anyway, about the university. Have you noticed anything unusual about the dropout rate this semester?"

Shrugging, Eleanor sighed. "I don't think so. I rarely get college kids as customers except for Valentine's Day, Homecoming, and the Spring Formal. Homecoming is in the fall and Spring Formal won't be until April."

He straightened, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. Looking around, he saw nothing out of place, but he wanted nothing more than to get his sonic screwdriver out and check out the area. "Well, thank you for your time, Eleanor."

"See you around, Doctor."

The Doctor left as quickly as he could. Getting his screwdriver out, he quickly scanned for a transmat or a teleport. There was a bit of unusual radiation, but none of the telltale signs of typical transportation devices. He followed the radiation down the block and around into an alley. In the shadows just away from the street were some flowers.

Scooping them up, he knew exactly where he'd seen them. Looking around for the young man, he frowned when he saw no sign of him anywhere. He ran back to Eleanor's shop.

"Do you have the name of the man who bought these?" he asked.

She stared at them. "No. It was a cash sale. I only take personal information if they pay by check. Where'd you get those?"

Ignoring her question, he dashed back down to the alley and scanned the street again, changing settings several times.

"What's that?" Eleanor asked, panting. She saw his questioning look and shrugged. "So I followed you. Big deal."

"It's a sonic screwdriver," he said. Failing to see anything new, he scanned the bouquet.

"It looks like a flashlight."

"It's not." He didn't look at her as he headed down the alley. "Something's just not right here."

"All right. What's wrong then?"

Sighing, he shook his head. "I don't know." Just as the words left his mouth he heard a very slight humming. "Eleanor…"

"Doctor, what's happening?"

He saw her fading out quickly and grabbed her in a bear hug. As they both were sucked into the transport, he hoped that whatever device this was didn't decide to fuse their cells together. After a few seconds, he and Eleanor materialized in a gray cell.

"This isn't fair. I didn't even get a chance to run," he said as he circled the small area. 

"Where are we?" Eleanor asked, staring around in horror. 

"I'd say we're on a ship hidden just behind the moon. Early 80s the satellite technology isn't advanced enough to pick up much, although it's not like they can just park it in orbit. Thus the hypothesis about the moon."

"You mean a space ship? Like aliens and everything?" 

"Yep."

She stood quietly for a moment. "No."

He whirled around and looked at her. "No what?"

"We're not on a space ship. There's no such thing."

"I beg to differ. I landed my ship just outside your shop," he said, trying not to grin at her incredulousness.

"That's ridiculous. I think I'd have noticed a space ship outside my door. This is the stuff of movies." Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, Eleanor crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "You're one of those guys that went and saw Star Wars a hundred times, aren't you?"

"Yep. Actually, between the nine movies, I've seen them four thousand, two hundred and sixty-five times." He winked at her jauntily. "Episodes Four through Six were definitely the best."

"What do you mean nine? The last movie isn't even out yet." 

"It isn't? Oh, yeah. It'll come out here in America on May 25 of this year. Now Return of the Jedi is really the best one of the whole lot. Definitely worth the money. Anyway. Let's see about getting out of here. Where did they hide the door?"

Eleanor looked around, realizing that the walls were indeed bare of anything that could be called a door. She really liked this man, but his crazy talk was making question her judgment. Watching him shine his light around the tiny room, she shook her head. It was weird how attraction worked. The Doctor was tall with wild hair. She liked guys with blue eyes, but there was something really compelling about the deep brown eyes. He was much skinnier than she liked her men, but the whole package was still enough to draw her attention.

"How clever of them. Of course, not nearly clever enough with me around, but still. I'll give them points for originality." The Doctor pointed the sonic screwdriver at the ceiling. A trapdoor popped open, and he put the tool away before leaping up and grabbing hold of the edges. He struggled for a moment before disappearing from view.

Alarmed at being left alone, Eleanor walked over under the open hatch. "Doctor? Where'd you go?"

He poked his head back into sight and grinned. "Need a hand?" he asked as he reached both arms back into the cell.

Sighing at how enthusiastic he seemed in this completely insane situation, she reached toward him. Strong hands grasped hers, and she was rather surprised by the ease of her extraction. 

As she climbed to her feet, Eleanor looked around and realized that one of them was crazy, and she couldn't tell which one of them it was. The trapdoor that she'd just exited was one of many that littered the floor of this circular room. Impossibly high ceilings were supported by silver walls. There were doors spaced evenly around the bottom of the walls, and the thrum of engines unlike the cars she was used to echoed through the space.

"This really is a space ship?" she asked slowly.

"Yep. Come on. Let's go have a look at who's at home," he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He reached out to take her hand before whirling and shoving his hands in his pockets.

Awed by the alien technology, she finally thought about her situation. "How did you know it was an alien space ship?"

"I'm not exactly human."

"Right," she said, sarcasm heavy in her word. "And you just happen to sound like a Brit and look like us?"

"Aliens come in all shapes and sizes. You'd be surprised. I've seen aliens that look like huge rocks and some that look like metal robots and some that have zippers in their foreheads." The Doctor glanced at her. "And you know, come to think of it, George Lucas has a really good grasp of alien life and technology. Have to check on him sometime."

"So, what planet are you from then?"

"Somewhere far away from here." 

Eleanor heard the heaviness in his voice and changed the subject. "So what makes you think that George Lucas knows about aliens?"

"Well, now, if I went into that I'd give away the first half of the movie, wouldn't I?" he said, winking at her. "Now, Chewbacca has always reminded me of the inhabitants of the planet of Khryswykk, which is suspiciously close to the planet name that Lucas used. Although he does have the color of the fur wrong, and the Khrysykkians actually wear clothes to cover their fur."

His rant was interrupted by a high-pitched whine as a small round machine rolled around the corner and ran into the Doctor's foot. Picking it up, he scanned it. "Patrol unit," he said. 

"It looks like a big beetle," Eleanor said, wrinkling her nose up against it. 

"Well, this beetle can't fly." Changing the setting on the screwdriver, he used it again and set the machine down. "Come on. Let's play follow the leader."

Lost for words, she did as she was told and followed him. They wound through identical corridors until she was completely lost before halting in front of a door. A key panel blocked their entrance, but another quick application of the sonic screwdriver and the door slid open.

"That's not really a screwdriver, is it?" she asked.

"Well, it can be, but it's best at opening doors." The Doctor whistled softly at the interior of the room. "Now this is a sophisticated operation."

"What's all this for?" 

"Oh, you know. Intergalactic travel, a little time manipulation, the like." He stopped to peer at one computer in particular. "I've never seen this before. It looks like they're searching."

Eleanor sighed, hating that she was completely lost. "Looking for what?"

"That I'm not sure of." Punching in a query, he frowned at the screen. Glancing at her, he put something else in and frowned again. "Whatever it was caught you in their trap." He mumbled something to himself and looking for more answers.

Left on her own, she started wandering around. A screen in the corner kept fluctuating between pictures of people, and she found herself watching. There was one per cell, and they looked miserable. She'd counted twenty-five before she saw a face she recognized.

"Doctor! Come here!"

"What is it?"

She pointed at the pictures. "That guy from earlier. The one with the flowers. He's in there."

They watched as the images cycled through again. "That's him all right. I wonder what they're doing to these people?"

"You shouldn't be here," a voice said, echoing through the chamber.

Whirling, they both stared at the tall androgynous creature. "Who are you?" the Doctor asked.

"We are the Hasiti'im. What are you doing here out of the cell?"

"Hasiti'im? That's impossible. Well, technically not impossible but highly improbably. What are you doing on this side of the universe?" he asked.

"We were thrown off course by a great disturbance. Thrown across space and time. Our fuel cells have been depleted."

"So, what, you're using humans as a gas station?" Eleanor demanded.

"Not precisely."

"Well, from where I'm standing, that looks like precisely what you're doing," the Doctor said, stepping forward angrily. "You have no right to do that."

"You have no jurisdiction here, Time Lord. Your Council does not interfere in such small incidents."

Eleanor felt a chill as the Doctor inhaled sharply. "I don't answer to the Council. So tell me precisely how you're using these people as fuel."

"Our ship is empathic. The disturbance drained us all, more than we could replenish ourselves. This planet reeks of excess emotion."

"What do you mean, excess emotion?" she asked, confused.

"When the creatures on this planet mate, the emotion is matched when it's reciprocated. Nothing lost, nothing gained. We need the excess, when one creature feels for another and it is not returned."

"So your ship simply siphons off psychic energy? What happens to the people when you're done sucking off their feelings?"

"They are returned."

The Doctor frowned. "But in what condition?"

The long pause was enough to confirm his suspicions. "Some are not strong enough to survive."

"Let me understand this. You're out of petrol, so to speak, and you pop on over here to Earth and grab a few pining souls to fill your tank. But to do so, you basically wring them out and throw them away?" The Doctor smiled, but there was nothing pleasant about it. "I don't think so. I'm going to offer you an alternative. Let these people go."

The Hasiti'im sighed. "That doesn't sound like much of an alternative. That sounds more like a threat."

"Maybe because it is. As I've told several other groups who decide that this little insignificant planet makes a good target, it's really not. This planet is protected. By me."

"We have no choice, Time Lord. We can't move from this place without fuel."

Eleanor looked back at the people in the cells. "Can't you just use something else?"

"Humans are the only ones developed enough to have sufficient amounts of emotional energy."

The Doctor made no comment, and Eleanor stood waiting for several moments. Nudging him with her elbow, she asked, "Aren't you going to say something to that?"

"Yeah, I am." He looked up at the creature. "Use me. Release them."

"Time Lords are not compatible with our technology."

"Ah, but I'm not quite the same as they were. I have a bit of human mixed up in there, too. Take me."

The alien hesitated. "If you insist. It is doubtful that you will supply enough energy to power our ship. When this fails, we will use the humans, and you will not be in any shape to help them."

"Oh, I'll always help them. I've died for them before. So, where do I go to donate?" 

The alien turned to lead the Doctor out when Eleanor spoke. "Doctor? What about me?"

"Stay here. I'll be back for you."

She nodded and shivered, scared to be alone on this space ship. The room was silent once the door closed. Finding a clear bit of space, she sank down and sat cross-legged, trying to convince herself that the Doctor knew what he was doing.

The Hasa-whatever had called him a Time Lord. Although it could just be some sort of title, she finally believed that he was an alien. People just didn't assume titles for names unless they were really crazy, and although he made a great case for insanity, the way he handled the situation spoke of long practice. That left the possibility that he was exactly what he said he was, and everything about him affirmed his words.

The discussion about the emotions drew her thoughts. She was baffled by the thought that these aliens could use the power from unrequited love to gas up their ship. While she'd never really thought about aliens before much other than just enjoying the odd movie, she realized that the concept of non-aggressive aliens was kind of weird, although quite encouraging. Then she remembered the Doctor's words. Apparently there had been other aliens with more sinister designs.

She shuddered. It was disturbing to think that one man, alien, was all that stood between Earth and invasion. Eleanor wondered what else happened to the Earth that no one was aware of.

The door slid open, and the slight noise startled her awake. She hadn't even realized that she'd dozed off, but the Doctor and the alien stood there.

"I lived up to my end of the bargain. Let them go," he said.

Eleanor stumbled to her feet. Staring at the Doctor, she realized that he'd gone through a lot. There were dark shadows under his eyes and his face was drawn. 

"Energy levels need to be verified first."

The Doctor stood still, glaring at the creature. "I told you it was full."

Ignoring that comment, the Hasiti'im stared intently at the readouts. After a seemingly infinite wait, the creature faced the Doctor. "You have fulfilled your word. The humans will be returned."

"I want to watch to make sure." He didn't wait for permission before striding over to the monitor. As the cells began emptying one by one, he said something under his breath.

"What was that?" Eleanor whispered.

"_All the lonely people, where do they all come from?_" he said. Glancing at her uncertain expression, he let a shadow of a grin appear. "Two rather bright British boys wrote that."

"I know. Just didn't expect an alien to know it."

"You'd be surprised what I know."

"You will now be returned to your previous location," the Hasiti'im said. "Prepare for transport."

Eleanor barely had time to look toward the Doctor before the same alley appeared before them, although instead of the noon hour that they left it was dark. She shivered as the winter wind whistled past her. "We were gone that long?" she asked.

"Apparently. Come on. I'll get you back to your shop." He shrugged out of his overcoat and wrapped it around her. 

"Thanks," she said, trying to keep her chattering teeth from being audible. The block seemed like a mile, and she wondered who was stumbling more. The key to the door evaded her fingers as she dug in her pocket. 

"Out to lunch?" he asked.

"What?"

He nodded at the sign in the door. 

"Oh. I didn't want to leave it unlocked and I figured that I'd just be gone a minute or two." Getting the door unlocked, she pushed it open and locked it behind them. "Oh, yeah. That feels good," she said as she rubbed her cold hands together.

The Doctor was very quiet. His face was white and while he wasn't shivering, he gave the impression of being very cold. 

"Come on. There's a couch back here while I get something warm on. Coffee or tea?" she asked as she led him into the back part of the store.

"Tea."

"Of course. The British thing." She pushed his coat off her shoulders and handed it back to him. "Sit down. I'll do the waiting."

Filling her tea kettle, she set it on the hotplate while she searched her cabinets. "I know tea in bags is like obscene or something, but it's all I've got."

"It's fine."

The temperature in the building quickly warmed her up. She had an enormous heating bill every winter since most of her inventory needed higher temperatures to stay fresh. On this cold evening, though, the heat was really welcomed.

The kettle whistled, and by the time his tea was done, her coffee was finished. Carrying both mugs over, she sat on the sofa next to him. "It's still pretty hot," she said.

He smiled slightly. "There's very little a cup of tea can't fix," he said. 

They sat and sipped their drinks before she spoke. "You're a Time Lord?"

"Yes."

"Did something happen to your planet?"

He nodded. "We lost a war."

"Oh." She took another drink. "I'm sorry."

"Earth is the closest thing I have to a home now. Or at least it was." Sighing, he looked over at Eleanor. "Sorry. You don't want to know about my problems."

"She didn't leave you, did she? She died."

"Who?" he asked, although his face told her that he knew exactly who she was referring to.

"That's why those aliens could use you. You lost her and that's why your feelings could be used."

"She's alive." He stared into his cup. "Her name is Rose, and she's trapped in a parallel universe."

"I'm sorry."

"That's fine. Thanks so much for the tea," he said, handing her the cup.

"Just stay there. I'll be back in a minute." Without giving him a chance to refuse, she dashed out of the room. She knew that he'd probably throw it out, but she had to give him something for risking his life for her and a bunch of people that he'd never met.

The potted plant was delicate, and she touched the petals. With a name like Rose, she thought that this was particularly appropriate. Carefully carrying it back into her break room, she halfway expected the Doctor to have left. Instead she was met with a startling sight.

The alien was sound asleep on her couch. She smiled at the scene. He looked rather uncomfortable with his head falling to the side like that, so she carefully grabbed his feet and pulled gently until he was nearly lying down. Stifling a giggle at his choice of footwear with the suit, she removed the high tops and set them neatly beside him. Dashing to her apartment upstairs, she grabbed a blanket and a pillow. She put the pillow under his head and covered him with the blanket.

The Doctor woke. Staring around, he blinked and tried to remember where he was. The dark room didn't look familiar, although he doubted that he was in trouble. There was a soft blanket tucked around him, and a pillow that fell off the sofa as he sat up.

He realized that he couldn't really remember how he'd gotten here, which unsettled him. He always knew when and where he was, or at least within reason. As he put his feet on the floor, he kicked his trainers. Slipping them on, he began exploring. 

The scent of damp earth and flowers drew him, and he walked quietly into the greenhouse. He saw a woman working, and as she stood and faced him the memories came flooding back.

"Hey, you're awake," she said with a broad smile. "You've got to be starving. How about I call out for a pizza?"

"I am, a bit." Staring past her at the darkness beyond the glass walls, he frowned. "How long was I asleep?"

"You slept for almost a whole day." Standing and wiping her hands on her jeans, she looked at him. "Is that normal for you?"

"Not at all. Time Lords need considerably less sleep than humans," he said. "I'm not quite sure what happened."

"After that Hama-whatsit sent us home, I brought you in and made tea. Then you fell asleep." 

"Hasiti'im," he said, automatically correcting her. "Your name is Eleanor."

"Yep," she said with a wide smile. "So, what do you want on your pizza?"

"Caterpillars and duck feathers."

"What?"

He laughed at her shocked expression. "I'm joking. Just order what you like. I'll be fine."

She smacked his arm as she marched past him. "That's just sick," she said, glaring playfully at him. His grin remained on his face as he followed her upstairs to her apartment.

Forty-five minutes later they were sitting at her table and eating. "So, you said that you parked your ship outside. Is it invisible or something?" she asked around a mouthful of pizza. "Because I looked out there all day and didn't notice a single space ship."

Grinning, he stole a piece of pepper from the bottom of the box. "Betcha did and didn't realize it." Giving her a measuring look, he asked, "Wanna go look at it?"

"Sure. After we eat," she said, pointing at his plate. "All in good time."

The playing continued, and after she put the food away she bundled up and the Doctor led her out into the street. "Here it is."

She looked around and shrugged. "And it's not invisible?"

He knocked on the TARDIS's doors and unlocked them. "Right here."

"Right. A phone booth is a space ship. Hey, Superman always did have a thing for them. Why not aliens?"

"Come on in."

"I've heard of close quarters, but this is ridiculous," she said under her breath. Stepping inside, she stared around in shock at the TARDIS. 

"Nice, isn't it?"

"Impressive. And how do you fit all this inside that little box?" she asked.

"Oh, it's complicated. It would take months to explain it all. Want to hang around and let me explain it?" he asked.

Lost in exploring the control room, she nearly missed his words. "What? You want me to just run off with you and leave my store closed for who knows how long?" she asked.

"Well, I might've forgotten to mention that this is not only a space ship but also a time machine. We could be gone for ten minutes or ten months or ten years." He let the offer sit for a few moments. "Nobody would even know you were gone."

Eleanor stared at him. There was a desperation to his voice that she didn't think he knew was there. "That parallel universe. Is there any way to get back there?"

The grin faded from his face. "No."

"Have you tried?"

"For years. Years and years."

"Well, can't you go visit her now? I mean she is from Earth, isn't she?"

He shook his head slowly. "I can't cross timelines like that. And besides, she won't even be born for another three years yet."

"Oh." She walked up and gave him a quick hug. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but I don't think I can."

Blinking, he opened and closed his mouth a few times before actually forming words. "What's happened to me? I never used to have people turn me down."

"Doctor, I just think that you don't really want just anyone, and asking everyone isn't going to replace her. Speaking of which, I'll be back in a minute."

She dashed out before coming back in with a small, oddly wrapped object. "Here."

He pulled the florist's paper off to find a small potted rose. He smiled as he touched the delicate white petals. "It's lovely."

"It's a thank you. You saved my life up there along with a bunch of people you never met." Eleanor smiled and shoved her hands in her pockets. "Very few humans would do that, and you're not one of us." He opened his mouth but she held up her hand, stalling his words. "It's all right. I'll never be able to think of you as anything but human. And believe me, I'm never going to forget this little adventure."

The Doctor laughed. "Now that I believe. Thank you."

"Go get her, Doctor." She walked out the TARDIS doors and closed them behind her.

The Time Lord stood still, staring at the tiny white petals. She'd given him an incredible gift, and he didn't mean the rose in front of him. Buoyed by her words, he turned to the controls, making sure the plant was securely nestled in amongst the wires and levers. "You heard her. Let's go get Rose."

Outside, Eleanor stood and squinted through the wind and noise that accompanied the TARDIS disappearing. "_All the lonely people, where do they all belong?_"

_**March Challenge 1: **Call this the writing lesson challenge. Your challenge is to write a song fic using the character or characters of your choice, without copyright infringement. **Rule 1:** You may use a maximum of two lines of lyrics in the entire fic. **Rule 2:** Your song must not be one of the usual suspects (IE: Who Knew, Song for Ten, Kiss From a Rose, anything by Evanescence). **Rule 3:** Readers must still have a chance to identify the song. **Rule 4:** You MUST have at least a plotlet._

_It goes without saying that you can't cheat and call it "The Day the Music Died: A Songfic"._


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